TV Talk: Classic sitcom rhythms, more profanity in ‘Mid-Century Modern;’ ‘Watson’ renewed

A mix of “The Golden Girls,” “Hot in Cleveland” and “Will & Grace,” Hulu’s 10-episode multi-cam sitcom “Mid-Century Modern,” about three gay male friends living in Palm Springs, Calif., embraces old-fashioned sitcom rhythms while adding profanity and sexual innuendos that cannot be quoted in a family newspaper.

Whether there’s an audience for that combo remains to be seen.

“Will & Grace” creators Max Mutchnick and David Kohan and director James Burrows are behind “Mid-Century Modern,” now streaming all 10 first-season episodes, along with veteran sitcom writers Suzanne Martin (“Hot in Cleveland,” “Frasier”), Adam Barr (“Desperate Housewives”), Dan Bucatinsky (“Web Therapy”), Alex Herschlag (“Will & Grace”) and Tracy Poust (“Call Me Kat”).

“Mid-Century Modern” offers a mix of comedic zingers and groan-worthy gags that stars Matt Bomer, Nathan Lane, Nathan Lee Graham and Linda Lavin do their best to elevate.

Rich entrepreneur Bunny (Lane, channeling Rue McClanahan and at times Bea Arthur), flight attendant Jerry (Bomer, channeling Betty White) and fashion magazine maven Arthur (Graham, the show’s stand-out, channeling Arthur) live together in Bunny’s mid-century modern Palm Springs home along with Bunny’s mom, Sybil (Lavin, channeling Estelle Getty).

Plots mix humor and heart, including the guys hiring a housekeeper, Arthur getting a new job, quarantining together during a bout of covid, Jerry reuniting with his adult daughter (Billie Lourd) and Bunny’s sister (Pamela Adlon) visiting.

The show is at its funniest when Lavin enters to spar with one of her co-stars (“I think it’s wonderful you have the confidence of a man with hair,” Sybil tells the bald Arthur). Sadly, Lavin died in December between the filming of the show’s eighth and ninth episodes. Early episodes retain jokes about Sybil’s age and proximity to death before her character dies off-screen. Episodes nine and 10 deal with her loss as Bunny gifts her car to Arthur.

“To honor her memory, I’ll never signal and drift into other lanes while applying lipstick,” Arthur quips.

If “Mid-Century Modern” gets renewed for a second season, the show will need to replace Lavin. The season finale flirts with the idea of Bunny’s sister, played by Adlon, moving in, but doesn’t commit to the idea. Perhaps Arthur or Jerry’s mom could join the show, which needs a fourth voice independent of the gay trio.

Unlike “Will & Grace,” which featured a cast of half-straight, half-gay characters that gave the show broad appeal, “Mid-Century Modern” has a 100% gay sensibility that makes it more niche by design. Fans of traditional sitcoms (re: older viewers) may or may not get all the jokes.

“You know it’s Prep as in Prep, not prep as in Preparation H,” dim bulb Jerry says. “You only make that mistake once.”

In the season finale, a Pittsburgh-based company gets a shoutout, although perhaps not in the way it would want as the guys consider turning Sybil’s room into a gym. Bunny calls the store about buying gym equipment and talks to a helpful employee, Tom, who Bunny presumes to be straight.

“What a gay-friendly store,” Bunny says after the call.

“Well, it is called Dick’s Sporting Goods,” Jerry replies.

“Straight Tom is probably a diversity hire,” Arthur adds.

Bomer on sitcoms

Bomer, a 2001 Carnegie Mellon University graduate, has appeared in sitcoms before, including on “Will & Grace,” but a series regular role in “Mid-Century Modern” is a new addition to this resume.

“I’ve been really grateful to get to explore repression and trauma for the past 12 years in my career, and I wouldn’t change it for anything, but I did come off of ‘Fellow Travelers’ and think, gosh, it’d be nice to go to work and laugh, and I needed to,” Bomer said during a virtual press conference Monday. “What we all found over the course of this show is that everybody needs to laugh right now. So it was really appealing for so many reasons.”

Bomer said CMU’s theater training best prepared him for acting in front of a studio audience.

“The year I graduated, they’d just built a studio with cameras in it, but I never got to take advantage of that,” Bomer said. “But I will say, in this medium probably more than any, having training in theater comes in handy because you have to be on voice, you have to use your body. It lends itself more to people that come from the theater, so I think that aspect of the training really paid off.”

‘Watson’ renewed

Ratings for Pittsburgh-set CBS medical drama “Watson” have ticked up in recent weeks, particularly when the show is not up against major competition (“SNL50,” “Oscars”), and given CBS’s decision to cancel multiple dramas it did not own, this week’s news that CBS will bring back “Watson,” produced by CBS Studios, for a second season was unsurprising.

In its renewal announcement late Wednesday, CBS said “Watson” averages 6.8 million viewers each week. The premiere episode drew 18.7 million multiplatform viewers over 35 days and is the most-streamed CBS original scripted series episode on Paramount+ this season where it drew 7 million streaming viewers.

“Watson” will air a two-part season finale at 10 p.m. May 4 and 11.

Thunderbirds going on SNP

Local Ultimate Frisbee Association team Pittsburgh Thunderbirds will televise all six of its upcoming home games on SportsNet Pittsburgh — the first four tape delayed, the last two live — at 8 p.m. May 3, 5:30 p.m. May 25, 7 p.m. June 2, 8:30 p.m. June 16, 4 p.m. June 22 and 6 p.m. July 5.

SNP announced its broadcast talent for the 2025 Pirates regular season with Greg Brown and Joe Block sharing play-by-play duties. Color analysts in the booth will include returning personalities and Pirates alumni Bob Walk, John Wehner, Kevin Young, Matt Capps and Neil Walker. Hannah Mears is back as sideline reporter.

In the studio, Rob King will host most games. Studio analysts include Pirates alumni Michael McKenry, Steven Brault, Jordy Mercer and Alex Presley. Young and Capps will also have appearances in the studio throughout in addition. Dan Potash and Hailey Hunter will share some hosting and sideline responsibilities during the Pirates’ season.

SNP announced a new subscription option for its direct-to-consumer SNP 360 streaming service, a $100 six-month “season pass” for fans who just want to follow Pirates or Penguins games through the teams’ seasons. The regular price for SNP 360 also went up to $22 per month this week, although existing subscribers will continue to pay $18 monthly for as long as they maintain their current subscription.

Renewed/ordered/canceled

IFC and AMC+ renewed dark comedy “Sisters” for a second season.

Netflix ordered a live-action “Scooby-Doo” series.

CBS’s “After Midnight” (12:37 a.m. weeknights) will end later this year with the network giving the 12:37 a.m. time slot back to its affiliates to program.